Sony Ericsson is a candybar phone with dimensions of 104 x 46 x 12.5 mm and it is all too obvious that its design has also been influenced by the desire to produce a unit as thin as possible. There are two variants offered: Growing Green (our unit) and Midnight Blue; the only difference between them being the color of the lower part. As revealed by the photos, the device appearance relies entirely on rectangular forms, with only a few oval and rounded elements.

At the first touch of T650 you will feel a pleasant coolness, resulting from the fact that silver-colored parts are actually metal cover rather than simple coated plastic. This makes the unit heavier – 95 g (3.4 oz) – and one is left with the impression that the thing they hold is no ordinary “toy”, but a medium or high class series model.

Model

Dimension (Inches)

Dimension (mm)

Weight (oz)

Weight (Gramms)

Sony Ericsson T650

4.09" x 1.81" x 0.49"

104 x 46 x 12.5

3.35

95

Sony Ericsson K850

4.01" x 1.88" x 0.66"

102 x 48 x 17

4.16

118

Nokia 6300

4.18" x 1.71" x 0.46"

106.5 x 43.5 x 12

3.20

91

Sony Ericsson T650 compared to Sony Ericsson K750

The unit is controlled through the company’s standard five-position navigation button, two selection keys, Internet, and back keys –integrated here into one two-positional button; the same is valid for the clear and activity menu keys on the front. During the time of testing we arrived at the conclusion that the above button “grouping” leads to their frequent mix-up due to involuntary pressing the wrong position. It is very irritating when you want to move one menu up, but activate the Internet instead. This was something we could not get used to; in order to minimize this key mix-up, one should take care when pressing the double buttons.

The volume up/down button is located on the side; it is also a two-position one. It bulges so slightly above the surface that people with normally sensitive fingers will have a hard time finding it. For us, the easiest way to find it was by detecting the division line between the two positions (which is only executable through using one’s nail) and it was only then that we knew where to press. Handling the volume button is no easier than locating it. Once again, the simplest way to do it is by nail, though you might do the job of pressing it by the tip of your finger as well. The camera button is on the same side, but since it bulges significantly more, one can push it with less effort.

Volume Keys

Camera Key

Upper side

Lower side

The on/off button is at the top and is very small, which is most likely aimed at not pressing it involuntarily.

Though fairly small, the numeric pad buttons are very easy to press thanks to their relief and the distance between them, so operating them will neither seem difficult nor make you nervous. A noteworthy and interesting fact: the keypad features the so called Illumination effects – i.e. various light effects from the keyboard. For example, when switching off, the lights do not go down simultaneously, but in a wavy manner instead; the process starts from the lower-most key row and finishes at the display. The preloaded Flash themes are connected with the keyboard illumination and the latter corresponds to the animated wallpapers. As a whole, this brings freshness and in combination with the blue backlight over the green housing makes the phone very pleasant.

The light itself is evenly distributed across the whole keypad, so one will not notice any darker or brighter areas. About the only drawback that we were able to notice is that the backlight penetrates through the panel; this might turn a bit irritating for the user.

The device features a 1.9 inch TFT display with a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels (QVGA) and 262 144 colors. The combination of size and resolution gives high DPI (dots per inch) ratio and the colors are bright and live. The display is providing good visibility even in direct sunlight, which enables effortless navigation through the menus and text-reading, but making out the details while viewing pictures will be difficult. The display is covered by scratch-resistant mineral glass, a protection that will help retain its good look for a longer period. It is a bit odd, even somewhat annoying that it does not reach the very edge of the glass (the uncovered space is quite large), which leaves the impression of a shrunken picture.

On the back of the phone we can see the lens of the 3.2 megapixel camera, which protrudes against the body and can be felt by groping, thus minimizing the likelihood of placing your finger in front of it.

3 Comments

Display mode:

1. (unregistered)

I picked up a T650i today to replace my k800i.
It's smaller, it's better built, it's sturdy and those strange looking buttons on the keypad are actually really good for text input. they work great.
the animated light themes are a nice gimic but it's an idea that's not been properly implemented yet. i just spent an hour remaking a theme i made for my k800 because from the 3 installed, i can't use any of them.. they are all dark with neon colour combinations... at least to my eyes...which makes it hard to use them on a daily basis... Also, there's some kind of funny time related easter eggs in this phone... tonight (31.10) i've got a screen full of animated pumpkins! i wonder what christmas has in hold for us? :)
the newly designed desk stand is a joy to use, sturdy, secure and it looks great... along with the new ringtones, it looks like SE have finally accepted that Apple do a great job and have let themselves be infulenced in a positive way (imo) by the design and audio dept at apple... check out how similar the ringtones are to the iphone...
my only gripe, and it's a big one is that the backlight is VERY YELLOW. It will add its own lovely tint of ochre to all your beautiful photos that you've made with the 3.2mpx camera. ALL my photos and background pictures have a yellow tint on this phone.
SONY, if you're out there... please correct this problem with a firmware update in the near future. this is a fantastic phone but please make the colours bright and white again! Maybe it's only my phone but i don't think so... ?
if you need a phone to make calls, sms, make snapshots, it has to be small, and with a super calendar to boot (that you can sync on a mac with isync), you can't go wrong with the T650i.
I hope this review helps you to make up your minds.
Bear in mind, i am extremely fussy when it comes to phones and if i find any problems or cool features over the next few days, i'll update this review... have fun :)

2.amras (unregistered)

I know why the display is so yellowish. Coz the light sensor is working and it decrease your screen brightness up to 50%!!
This is ridiculous since K770 light sensor - when working - only reduces the brigthness up to 10% so the screen will still look bright and crisp.

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